Dixie Chicks sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison couldn’t wait for the third sister Natalie Maines to come back to the fold, so they formed a side project to tide them over till the next Chicks album. But without Maines’s uniquely identifiable vocals, what were we expecting?

Well, I for one didn’t care about her absence and was pleasantly surprised to hear Robisons’s (and Maguire’s) vocals lend themselves to great alt-pop songs that are well-crafted and expertly played. As always, the harmonies are top shelf, and there’s no denying great hooks and melodies. It’s an album that deserves to be heard, and I look forward to a new Dixie Chicks album with all three ladies taking up the vocal duties in the future.